


Crybaby

by Lanceeselhombre



Series: His Process Au [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxious Keith (Voltron), Crying, Depressed Keith (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I hc Keith as an emotional boy and this fic was my excuse to write him being emotional, Keith has a phobia of bathrooms, Lance (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Mentions of Rape, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Pee, Platonic Cuddling, implied/referenced trauma, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 06:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15382698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanceeselhombre/pseuds/Lanceeselhombre
Summary: Keith hated to admit it, but he was a bit of a crybaby.When he used to live with his blood parents, it was okay. He only cried if he tripped and scraped his knee, if he got lost in the department store, or if it was storming and the power went out. His parents always came to his rescue if those things happened, would soothe his pain and his fear, would make it all better, would tell him he would be okay. They never scolded him for his tears; in fact, they encouraged them. They always told him that it was good to cry when he needed to. So growing up (at least to the age of 6) he never thought of crying as something weak or petty.But then his parents died, and he was put in an orphanage. If there’s one thing he learned there, it was that everyone hated criers.





	Crybaby

**Author's Note:**

> I FINISHED SOMETHING!!!! :3
> 
> Sorry I’m taking so long guys I swear I have so many WIPS for this series alone. It’s taking forever because I want to write the endgame fic but don’t want to write the end and then flesh out the story. I’m trying to write chronologically and my brain is FIGHTING me. 
> 
> Would you guys like me to post my WIPS? Each is finished past at least one time skip, and I could post the new installments in parts of you guys would like that. (Lemme know in the comments.)

Keith hated to admit it, but he was a bit of a crybaby. 

 

When he used to live with his blood parents, it was okay. He only cried if he tripped and scraped his knee, if he got lost in the department store, or if it was storming and the power went out. His parents always came to his rescue if those things happened, would soothe his pain and his fear, would make it all better, would tell him he would be okay. They never scolded him for his tears; in fact, they encouraged them. They always told him that it was good to cry when he needed to. So growing up (at least to the age of 6) he never thought of crying as something weak or petty. 

 

But then his parents died, and he was put in an orphanage. If there’s one thing he learned there, it was that everyone  _ hated _ criers. 

 

In his first few days, he obviously cried. A lot. Every night. Maybe randomly during the day when knowing he would never see his parents again got to be too much. And at that point, the adults were understanding. They knew the wound was still fresh, that he needed time to heal. It was tragic for a child his age to lose his parents: old enough to understand the concept of death but not old enough to handle the loss. The adults knew this. Sometimes one of them would scoop him up and rock him in a chair to get him to sleep. 

 

That was nice. 

 

The other kids weren’t so forgiving, however. Especially the slightly older kids and the teens. They’d all moved on somewhat and  _ despised  _ the new kids who would cry all night long. To them, he was just a disturbance. Someone annoying. A crybaby. They were patient for maybe the first few hours of his first night before the threats began. 

 

Terrified, Keith shut up. 

 

Then, just a few days later, the rape happened. He wasn’t even spared the blessing of being given that night to grieve on threats of the scene repeating, but hell if he didn’t cry in the morning. 

 

He cried to all the adults, cried when they dismissed his claims, cried when he was reprimanded for insisting he was telling the truth. He cried every time he wet himself. He cried every time he was spanked for the disobedience. He cried when he was forced to clean his clothes because he didn’t know how. He cried when he started wearing diapers to school. He cried when he talked to his therapist. 

 

Eventually, he learned how to be quiet so he could cry and not get threatened by the other kids. Soon after that, he learned how to bottle up his emotions. 

 

He took it as a plus to be able to mask his feelings, because he’d mastered it right before he was enrolled in the garrison. Getting into that school felt like a chance at a new life, one where no one knew about his dark and humiliating past and no one could bully him, rat him out, or exile him for his phobia. By that point he had also mastered the art of hiding his daily accidents and doing his laundry at times where no one would see and notice that all of his clothes were wet and stink like piss. He even got a dorm room to himself because he was listed under ‘special needs’ students due to his phobia and the problems it had caused in his earlier school years. Thankfully, only the head of the school knew why he was a special needs student and they promised not to tell a soul. 

 

He thought things couldn’t get better. 

 

Then he met Shiro, one of the older students who was about to graduate. He was the kindest, friendliest, most understanding person he’d ever met; Keith didn’t even know there were people as nice as him that existed anymore. The man was always inviting him to hang out or to study with him (once Keith admitted his grades were suffering a little, although it was more due to his lack of sleep than any lack of comprehension.) They quickly grew close, and he was certain that he’d found his utopia in the garrison and in Shiro.

 

However, despite how close the got, Keith never opened up to him about his past. He wanted to be hopeful and believe that Shiro would understand, but he decided to play it safe and continue to keep his secret. The reaction he’d always gotten to his phobia was disgust and rejection, and even though Shiro was miles better than any of those people were, he didn’t want to take the chance of it happening again. He was worried that telling him would mean losing his best, closest, and only  friend, and he wouldn’t be able to take the fall back into loneliness. 

 

It didn’t matter anyway, though, because Shiro went to Kerberos a few months later, then was reported dead due to a piloting error. Being away from him had been hard enough; the news of his ‘death’ was a shock. Suddenly, his mood dropped as fast as his grades, and both bottomed out weeks after the Kerberos team was reported dead. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything but eat an occasional meal, sleep when it would actually come, and clean up after his accidents when he could pull himself out of bed. For the first time, he found himself slacking in that department. Usually he was always so quick to take care of it for fear of people seeing and being grossed out, but after losing Shiro he couldn’t truly claim to care. He’d never understood the term well, but he was sure that during the entirety of his second year at the garrison he was severely depressed. 

 

One day, Iverson confronted him about his grades. Once he found out they’d dropped because the Kerberos mission had gone wrong he went into a monologue about how he couldn’t let a error like that destroy his life. He wasn’t sure what about him talking that set him off- the tone he used, the way he called Shiro’s death an ‘error,’ the fact that he told him to not let it eat him up like he knew what he was going through when he didn’t- but he did know that seconds later the teacher was on the ground, writhing in pain and holding his eye. 

 

He was expelled the next day with only his small bag of belongings and a few of Shiro’s things, but nowhere to go. Not knowing where else to go, he wandered into the desert. Something about it... _ called _ to him, so he followed that call to see what he found. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do anyway. 

 

He found a abandoned shack and decided to camp out there. It was never meant to be anything more than temporary, but yet he found himself still there six months later, still working on finding the thing that was calling to him. 

 

After that, a ton of shit happened. Shiro crash landed back on earth, alive- thank god- and he met the three teens that he would come to know as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. They found the blue lion and were wormholed deep into space, then forced to be a part of an intergalactic space war. Not to mention that he was also apparently half alien, and the whole team got a little funny around him for a few days because he was half like their enemy. 

 

He felt tremendously better with Shiro back, but with all the other things suddenly piled on his shoulders, the relief felt minute. Slowly, as the war continued on, their duties grew more intense, and the team found out about his phobia- don’t get him wrong, he was happy they knew and accepted him as he was, but the exposure training and constant worry that they would get tired of dealing with him was definitely weighing him down- he felt himself falling back into depression. What made it even worse was that he still had yet to get over the loss of his parents and the trauma from his rape, even after a decade, and it frustrated him that he had to be a hero when he just wanted to do was catch a break and  _ heal _ . But he was stuck with no way out. There was no other red paladin.

 

It was only a matter of time before he lost the will to get out of bed again. 

 

*****

 

Just like he predicted, one day he woke up and just couldn’t  _ get  _ up. He sighed to himself, wanting to be frustrated with himself because he knew he needed to get up and be productive, but he barely had the energy for even that. Still, he tried to coach himself out of bed for about twenty minutes before he gave up, resigning himself to a day spent doing nothing but moping. 

 

Of course, the first thing his thoughts drifted to was all the things wrong with his life, starting with the beginning; his parents death. He was seventeen (they stopped keeping track of their birthdays in space, he wasn’t sure if that was accurate) and he still missed them like he did when he was just a kid. It was at times like this, when he was feeling his lowest, that he would remember how they used to cuddle him when he felt sad, and he wished they were here to comfort him like that now. They always let him vent, to scream and cry out all the negative emotions so he could move past them. But he’d taken that ability away from himself, hadn’t he?

 

Suddenly, he felt bone-crushingly lonely, so much so that it ached deep in his chest and made it difficult to breathe. In an effort to comfort himself he hugged his pillow to his chest and wrapped himself as tightly as he could in the few blankets he had, but the artificial cloth just couldn’t compare to the embrace he was longing for. 

 

He tried to pretend though, that the pillow at his front was his mom and the blankets around his back were his dad. He imagined telling them all of his struggles- about the orphanage, the foster homes, school, the garrison, Shiro, being a part of Voltron- and finally getting to cry and just be a kid again like he never got to once they were gone. 

 

The teen vented to himself for a while, recounting all his troubles and fussing over them in a way he knew would only make him feel worse, but he couldn’t stop himself. He felt so miserable that all he could do was try to hang on to his small fantasy and pretend that there was someone actually with him who cared that he was upset, that he felt like a small, damaged boy being forced to play the role of a confident, powerful hero. 

 

When he ran out of things to think about he simply laid there, trying to remember what he was missing today. He’d probably already missed breakfast, there was a meeting today directly after, then there was paladin training right before dinner, and tonight was game night….

 

He picked a hell of a day to be depressed, huh?

 

He wondered why no one came to get him already, if not because he missed breakfast then because he was going to miss the meeting. It wasn’t anything super special- it was just a debrief on a mission they had planned for the next movement- but Allura and Coran never liked them missing. 

 

Maybe they just didn’t care? They already had to police his water and (sometimes) food intake and made him face his phobia every day so he could eventually overcome it, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to say that they were getting tired of having to monitor everything he did. He was the only one that needed his team to coach him on how to take care of himself, and if he couldn’t even do that right how could he be a good paladin? He’d been weighing the team down for awhile, they were probably finally getting tired of it. 

 

Keith felt the first wobble of his lip at that. He didn’t know why it affected him so much though. Everyone always got sick of him at some point, even if they acted nice at first. He should have never let them in, all it ever did for him in the past was earn him a broken heart. Maybe if he’d kept them at a distance there would be someone at his door to get him up, if only because he would miss that meeting. 

 

His chest jumped with a suppressed sob and his eyes began to water, causing the teen to bite his lip hard. He didn’t want to cry, he was already pathetic enough moping in bed and wanting his parents like a baby, working himself up so he was as distraught as he was right now. His body didn’t seem to listen though, because even as he chastised himself for his tears they came faster, and soon he was fighting to breathe between the sobs he was trying desperately to swallow down. 

 

The universe decided that that would be a perfect time for someone to knock at his door. 

 

Keith startled at the sound and quickly stopped breathing, trying to force himself to calm down like he would in the past when he felt his emotions rise like this. He found it much harder to do this time, like the bottle he was trying to shove all of his pain into was finally starting to overflow. It made him panic, and a desperate wail slipped past his lips because of it. 

 

Whoever was at the door must have heard it. “Keith? You awake?” They asked, sounding a bit concerned but nothing more. The red paladin couldn’t answer them even if he wanted to (he didn’t.)

 

When he didn’t reply, the person spoke up again. “I’m coming in, okay?” 

 

_ No, please don’t.  _ Keith begged internally, not wanting to face anyone right now. The person at the door was one of the six other people on this ship, and he didn’t want them to see him like this. The only people he did want to see weren’t even in the universe anymore. 

 

Of course, they didn’t hear his silent plea, and his door whooshed open to let them in. Not wanting to know who it was, Keith tried hiding into the pillow he was clutching as much as possible, wanting to both cover his wet cheeks and red eyes and to obscure his view of the other person. Still, he hadn’t calmed a bit, so even as he tried to hide the evidence of his distress his body heaved with the weight of it, making it obvious that he was crying. 

 

The person walked up to his bed and peered down at him, and without looking directly at them he could tell that it was Lance. “Hey, what’s wrong? Why is the big bad red paladin crying alone in his room?” He asked, sounding extremely concerned and worried even as he attempted a bit of humor in hopes of cheering him up. 

 

Sadly, all his comment did was agitate Keith’s emotions, causing a long cry to slip out, much to the teen’s frustration. He was already upset, he didn’t need to be teased and referred to as ‘big’ and ‘bad’ when he really just felt vulnerable and little. And now he was crying openly in front of Lance, and he didn’t think his predicament could get any worse. 

 

Lance seemed to recognize he’d made an error and frowned, “Not in the mood huh?” He guessed softly, his demeanor suddenly different. He sounded like he was a big brother trying to comfort a younger sibling who came home from a bad day at school. The blue paladin sighed through his nose and sat down on the bed when he didn’t receive an answer, making the mattress dip a little towards where he was. Keith’s hips slid just enough for him to faintly feel Lance’s side against his hip bone, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t find the contact a bit comforting. “So what’s eating at you?” He wondered, his voice quiet.

 

Still, Keith didn’t respond, being too worked up to even speak. He cuddled his pillow closer, bracing for the beratement he knew was coming. Lance would get mad at him for not explaining what was wrong when his friend was being so kind as to feel concerned for him, would come clean about everything about him that he hated, would taunt him for being so dependent on the team, would laugh at him for his pitiful phobia, would call him disgusting- 

 

Lance’s fingers combed gently through his hair, causing his mind to come to a screeching halt. He….wasn’t upset? “You just need to cry for a while first, huh? I get it, I’m the same way when my homesickness gets bad.” He said softly, sympathizing with the red paladin’s distress. “I’ll stay, if you want. So whenever you’re ready to talk I’ll be here.” He offered in a genuine, empathetic tone, something Keith had only ever heard of in movies.

 

Suddenly, he launched himself at Lance, harshly squishing his face into the other teen’s shoulder and clinging tightly to his clothes as he  _ sobbed _ , no longer able to hold back his far overdue breakdown. Even with all the kindness the brunette was showing him, he still expected to be yelled at and shoved away, but he was so  _ desperate  _ for comfort that he couldn’t help but latch onto the other the second he offered it. 

 

Lance looked surprised by how fast he’d moved to hug him, but his shocked expression quickly faded into a soft mix of sympathy and concern. He wrapped his arms around the trembling teen, his grip firm but not suffocating, and leaned his head into the other’s, offering him the comfort he was so desperately longing for. “I’ve gotcha buddy.” He soothed softly, one of his hands moving to card through Keith’s hair again. 

 

Keith howled breathlessly into Lance’s shoulder, his body heaving heavily with each loud cry. It felt like all of his bottled emotions had burst outside of their confinements and were now pouring out of him in a flood that he couldn’t control. It was both terrifying and relieving, getting to finally cry out of all of his pain and his sadness, especially with someone holding him close and comforting him like no one but his parents had. The thought comforted him, that Lance cared about him like family, that there would be no punishments, no threats. He was free to feel his emotions and let them run their course without any fear of repercussions. That freedom made them only come faster, nearly suffocating him. 

 

The blue paladin gently patted his back, aiming to soothe. “Just relax. Take deep breaths.” He coached, knowing Keith was so worked up he was becoming dizzy from oxygen deprivation. The poor thing was hysterical and needed someone to help him calm down. “Everything’s gonna be fine.” The teen promised.

 

The red paladin fought for his breath between bouts of crying, trying to do as Lance said and breathe deep, using his friend’s breathing as a guide. Eventually, he found a rhythm and calmed, no longer sobbing his heart out, but he was still crying. He nuzzled further into Lance, not wanting to leave the comfort of his arms despite knowing he would eventually have to. This was the first time he’d been comforted in a very long time and he didn’t know how long it would be until it would happen again. He was making the absolute most of it. 

 

To his sadness, Lance gently pulled away after a few more moments to grab him a tissue. He took it and blew his nose until he could breathe through it again, then simply sat where he was and stared down at the sheets, feeling dejected. It seemed their heart-to-heart was over now, and he’d have to pick himself back up and get on with his day. Only, he didn’t feel ready to be a paladin today, not after that kind of crying fit. He just wanted to lay in bed and cuddle with his friend and not have to do anything. 

 

What a fairytale wish, huh?

 

“Do you want to take a shower? That usually helps me calm down.” Lance suggested, grabbing another tissue to wipe away the tear tracks on the other’s face. Keith closed his eyes at the gently touch, sniffled, and sighed calmingly, then nodded. He didn’t know what calmed him down because he hadn’t cried like that in so long, but he was willing to try what Lance suggested. Even if it didn’t work, it would give him a chance to wash away the gross feeling from his skin that had accumulated from laying in bed all morning. 

 

Lance smiled. “Are you okay with using your bathroom? Or do you want to go to the bathhouse?” He asked considerately, knowing that Keith still wasn’t over his phobia. His own bathroom usually caused less problems though, and he knew that he sometimes used it when he was feeling up to it. 

 

Today wasn’t really a day where Keith was feeling up to doing that, but he still pointed to the bathroom door, indicating that was where he wanted to shower. He wasn’t feeling up to walking to the bathhouse either, or running the risk of someone else seeing him in such a state, so he chose the lesser of two evils. He probably wouldn’t have much capacity for fear anyway when he was feeling so depressed, so it wasn’t like he’d be giving himself a panic attack. 

 

The blue paladin nodded and stood, moving to the closet. He opened it and sifted through the clothes inside for a moment until he found a pair of black yoga pants and a white tshirt- not quite Keith’s usual clothes, but they would be more comfortable. He brought them back to his friend and placed them in his lap. “Here. You can go shower. I’ll stay here, okay?” He said, sitting down on the bed to prove his point. 

 

Keith took the clothes and stood, nodding silently as he walked into his connected bathroom, being sure to lock the door behind him. He put the clothes down on a vacant shelf and turned on the shower, pointedly ignoring the toilet in hopes of staving off his anxiety. Still, his skin began to prickle uncomfortably, so he quickly undressed and hopped in the shower. 

 

He was pleased to find that showering was surprisingly calming; even his slight uneasiness about being in the bathroom faded with the hot water. Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling any less depressed, but the water soothed his sniffling, so that was something. After twenty minutes, he turned off the water and dried off, quickly getting dressed again before he could get anxious about being naked. 

 

The clothes Lance chose for him were comfortable and soft, definitely not something he would have chosen for himself despite his mood. It made him thankful that Lance had found him, because his teammate knew how to take care of him more than he could himself. It also made him upset all over again, though, because it reminded him how dependent he was on the team and that they were bound to get tired of him at some point. He’d poured out enough of his emotions already to keep from crying at the thought, but it brought a sad frown to his face. 

 

He left the bathroom, not wanting to stay in there any longer. Lance perked at the sound of the door opening and turned to look at him, still sitting on the bed where he’d been before he left. The brunette smiled softly and patted the mattress next to him, offering for Keith to sit down with him. 

 

After a moment of debate the red paladin sat down on the bed, staring down at his lap and trying to think of what to say. Lance said he waited so they could talk, but he didn’t know what to tell him. He knew he was upset because he missed his parents and because he thought he was a burden to the team, but he couldn’t just  _ say  _ that. Lance was missing more people than him, complaining about his family would make him feel like he was insulting the other, and he wouldn’t be able to take the pain of his suspicions about being dead weight confirmed. 

 

He opened his mouth, intending to say he was fine now, or maybe even apologize for his breakdown, but was cut off by the blue paladin pulling him in for another hug. Keith had never been one for hugs after the incident in the orphanage, but something about Lance’s hugs always pulled down his walls instead of building them up. Albeit a bit cautiously, he leaned into the embrace and relaxed, letting himself enjoy the comfort. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Lance whispered, not moving to end the hug, so neither did Keith. 

 

The raven-haired teen sighed. “Alright.” He replied after a second, although his tone definitely didn’t sound ‘alright.’ Part of him wanted to be truthful with his friend, but he’d also never done this before- venting his problems to someone else. It felt awkward to just go off on him, especially with what was bothering him and who he was talking to. So, he defaulted to his all-purpose response: neutrality. 

 

“No you’re not.” Lance retorted, although his voice was soft and non-accusatory. “What’s wrong?” He asked again. 

 

Keith pressed his face into the brunette’s shoulder uncomfortably. This was new territory for him, he’d never had someone want him to talk through his problems. “It’s stupid.” He mumbled, admitting that that was really how he felt he was acting. He believed that his emotions were valid, but breaking down in tears about it, he felt, was childish. People never like criers, they think they’re annoying.

 

Lance gently pulled away from the hug to look him in the face, but Keith kept his gaze down, feeling like a child who was about to be scolded. “Keith, something that can make  _ you _ upset enough to cry like that is not stupid.” He stated firmly, although his tone was still soft around the edges. As he continued, his voice softened even more until it was nothing more than gentle, quiet words floating to his ears. “You can tell me, I won’t laugh or yell or whatever it is you’re worried I’ll do. I just want to know what’s wrong.” He said, and the promise was almost enough to bring tears back to Keith’s eyes. 

 

The teen felt like his heart would burst out of his chest at any moment, yet he still found himself trusting Lance enough to speak. “Everything’s wrong.” He sniffled, voice wavering, his chest jumping like he would start crying again. He really hoped he didn’t, he already felt pathetic enough.  “We’re fighting a space war and I’m still stuck on my own fucking problems, and I’m just dragging down the team because I can’t get over my parent’s death or what happened at the orphanage even though it happened over ten years ago-“ He blubbered, sure that by the end of his rant Lance couldn’t even understand what he was saying anymore. He didn’t mean for his words to come out so rushed and teary, but he knew he might not say everything if he didn’t get it all out at once, so he let himself rant. 

 

Before he could continue, his friend gently cut him off by cupping his face with both of his hands and forcing him to look at him. Keith met his eyes, his own overflowing with tears for the second time in the last few hours. Lance’s eyes were gentle and understanding and sparkling with their own sympathetic tears, and seeing that only made the raven-haired teen cry harder. “Keith, you lost your parents and were raped within only a few  _ days _ of each other as a six year old child. I can’t think of anything more traumatizing than that.” He pointed out, his voice filled with the emotions Keith felt, yet somehow not wavering. “Not to mention that every adult in your life treated you like shit. Ever since those things happened you’ve had so much to worry about that you haven’t had time to heal.  _ It’s okay _ to be upset about that.

 

“And you’re not dragging down the team.” He said firmly, and Keith had to bite his lip until it bled to keep from sobbing at that. “I miss my family too. I have a few nieces and nephews I helped take care of. I miss doing that. So taking care of you, helping you with exposure training and everything, isn’t a burden to me. In a way, it fills a void. So don’t think I don’t like doing that, okay?” He explained gently, offering a soft, watery smile. “And as for the others, you know Shiro better than I do, he’d carry you on his back through a desert. Hunk is a sweetheart to everybody. Pidge may act like a little shit but she loves us like family. You couldn’t get rid of any of us even if you tried.” He chuckled. 

 

Keith couldn’t help but copy his laugh, overwhelmed by the fact that all of his fears were actually the complete  _ opposite  _ of what was really true. It felt like a very large weight had been lifted off of his shoulders to know that the team wasn’t tired of him and to be told that his problems were valid. “O-okay.” He managed, finding it difficult to talk through his tears. They were more relieved than anything at the moment, but they kept coming like rivers. 

 

Lance smiled sweetly at him, his eyes dry and his voice normal again. He sat back and lowered his hands from Keith’s face, looking relieved that he’d gotten his point across. “Why don’t we go relax in the common room? You’ve been cooped up in here for way too long.” He suggested as he stood, stretching his limbs. 

 

“W-what about the meeting?” The red paladin sniffled, still working to get his own emotions under control again. He had no idea how long it was supposed to be, and he felt bad for missing. He hoped he wouldn’t get scolded for that later. 

 

The blue paladin huffed out a breathy laugh. “That was over an hour ago. Shiro asked to me come check on you afterwards because you hadn’t showed up and he was worried. We’ve got nothing to worry about for the rest of the day.” He assured, offering his friend a hand up when he didn’t stand. 

 

Keith took it and got to his feet, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. He was relieved there was nothing he was expected to do, he still didn’t feel ready to be a paladin today. “What do you want to do?” He asked, not having a preference of his own. Like before, he just wanted to lay down and cuddle with someone and not do anything for a few hours. 

 

Lance shrugged, grabbing Keith’s blanket from the bed before turning to the door. Keith followed him out and let it be quiet while his teammate thought. “Today’s kind of a lazy day, huh?” He mused. “Nothing really. I would say video games but I don’t feel like rage quitting again this week. And I’m not really into cooking or tech stuff like Hunk and Pidge.” He said, turning his head to look at Keith. “What about you?” 

 

Keith shrugged as well, not knowing what to say. He didn’t want to be childish and ask to cuddle, but he didn’t want to do anything else. “I don’t know.” 

 

Lance hummed in acknowledgement, and it was quiet for the rest of their walk to the common room. No one was there when they arrived, so Lance took the liberty to flop down in the middle of the couch and lay on his back. Keith walked down the stairs to the couch instead of jumping down like Lance had done, not having the energy to. He stood next to his friend awkwardly, debating whether or not he could just lay down with him so he didn’t have to ask. It would be okay to do that, right?

 

Lance seemed to catch on to his uncertainty and smiled, gently patting the space between him and the back of the couch. “Wanna just cuddle for a bit?” He offered, holding his hands out to help the other get situated on the couch. 

 

Keith breathed an internal sigh of relief and nodded, his face heating with a blush as he stepped forward and let Lance help him sit down between his stomach and the back of the couch. From there he laid down, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder and curling his arm on top of his chest. When the other didn’t shift his position he relaxed, enjoying finally getting to cuddle with someone without fear of something unwanted happening. 

 

When he relaxed his leg slid in between Lance’s, and he didn’t mind for a few seconds until he realized his leg was touching his friend’s junk and quickly pulled away. He knew there was nothing bad about it, they were just cuddling, but because of his past the crotch was a big no-zone for him in any context. His leg felt defiled just knowing where it had come into contact with his friend. 

 

Lance chuckled a little at the way he jumped, finding his reaction a comical. He took the blanket he brought with them and folded it twice, then placed it on his crotch as a barrier. “That better?” He asked, serious despite the snicker in his tone. 

 

Keith laid down again with a bit of hesitation, finding to his relief that the blanket made a big difference. He was much more comfortable now. “Yeah, thanks.” He replied, blushing because he thoughts he’d overreacted a bit. He knew Lance would never do anything to him, so he shouldn’t be so skittish about something like that. 

 

“You’re welcome.” Lance said, wriggling out of his jacket so he could drape it over the both of them as a blanket, considering the actual blanket was busy being used for something else. He leaned his head into Keith’s when he was sure the other was comfortable, causing the teen to practically melt into him. 

 

After all of the crying he did earlier, combined with the emotional exhaustion of being honest with Lance about his feelings, Keith was tired despite having done virtually nothing all day. The warmth of Lance’s jacket and his friend’s body next to him didn’t help his case, slowly lulling him to sleep the longer he laid there. Soon, he was drifting off, to what he was sure were the words to a Spanish lullaby. 

 

*****

 

Too soon, he was being shaken awake and groaned, pressing his face farther into the soft object below him. He was comfortable and relaxed and didn’t want to get up. He heard a chuckle and was shaken again, causing him to push the hand away, hoping the person would get the hint. 

 

“Come on kiddo, time for dinner.” Shiro said patiently, not giving up despite the fact that Keith didn’t want to wake up. “You need to eat.” He hadn’t eaten or drank anything all day, he needed to get something in him before the end of the night. 

 

Keith sighed, knowing he couldn’t argue with his leader. Even if he tried to be stubborn, Shiro would just throw him over his shoulder and carry him to the dining room to get him to eat. That didn’t sound all that bad though, he would enjoy the ride. “Okay.” He mumbled as he reluctantly opened his heavy eyes and stretched. He couldn’t deny that he was a little hungry, although his thirst was a sensation he’d come to live with constantly, so the lure of something to drink wasn’t nearly as strong as food. 

 

“Did you have a nice nap?” Lance asked, his chest vibrating under Keith’s ear as he spoke. The teen had nearly forgotten that he was cuddling with the brunette when he fell asleep and admittedly  jumped a little when he spoke. The other only chuckled, finding him endearing. 

 

The red paladin nodded, unable to deny that he’d just slept better than he had in a long time. “Yeah, thanks.” He said, thankful that Lance let him cuddle with him after their talk in his room. He’d needed it, much more than he’d thought he did.

 

Lance grinned. “You’re welcome.” He replied happily, sounding like he’d enjoyed himself as well. “We can cuddle again later, but we need to get to dinner. You haven’t eaten or drank anything at all today and I’m getting worried.” He said as he pulled his jacket off of them. “Wait, have you even  _ peed _ today?” He added, the thought suddenly coming to his mind. 

 

“No.” Keith responded honestly, much less embarrassed about admitting it than he had been when he first started having to voice things like that to his teammates. They treated it like a normal everyday thing (which it was) and that helped him to stop feeling like his bodily needs were a taboo subject. 

 

Lance gaped at him, looking horrified. “Okay, nope, off. You’re drinking until you pee.” He ordered, jiggling the leg that was underneath Keith’s weight to motion that he should get up. “It’s  _ dinner _ time, how have you  _ not  _ needed to take a piss yet?” He continued, looking so shocked at the idea that Keith had to laugh. 

 

“I guess I’m just used to be dehydrated and desperate.” The red paladin replied nonchalantly, although he got off the couch and stood, understanding why his friend was worried. He may be used to being dehydrated, but he knew it wasn’t good to be. He also knew it wasn’t good to hold in his pee for as long as he usually did, but old habits die hard. 

 

“Nope, not acceptable.” The blue paladin retorted, standing as well once the other was off of him. He took Keith’s hand and started to pull him towards the kitchen, Shiro following behind them and chuckling to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I should make it clear this series will not contain Klance. I know Keith and Lance have a close dynamic, but it is more brotherly than shippy. 
> 
> Keith wouldn’t be ready to date in this series for a long time anyway.


End file.
